Upon arriving in the Champion League, Ichigo is learning that he will have fierce battles ahead. He learns his first opponent will be Kariya, the flying-type specialist that once helped Orihime. With some of the most important battles ahead of him, Ichigo readies himself for what's ahead.

Each and next chapter, the ultimate goal

Ready for battle, brave and bold

I know we're gonna make it

We will find a way

Oh-oh

We've come so far

We fought so hard to get where we are

Oh-oh

We belong together

It's always you and me

Pokemon

(Ichigo's voice): Winds of Battle

"Ichigo!" Orihime called as she was hurrying back to the room. She opened up the door and tried to catch her breath with all the eyes on him.

"What's wrong, Orihime?" Ichigo said.

"I just heard! The Elite Four have all arrived!" Orihime said. All of them knew they would be here eventually, but they were still a little surprised to hear about their arrival. The four trainers that Ichigo has to beat to decide his future is ahead of him.

...

Outside

The four of them soon arrived with reporters coming at them with questions. Kariya, Kagerosa, Shusuke, and Muramasa all arrived at the arena as they too were ready for a battle. When Ichigo heard they arrived, he and his friends hurried to see them.

"Hey! Over here!" Ichigo called to get their attention. Three of them already went inside, but he did manage to get the attention of Kariya.

"Ichigo." Kariya said as he moved past the reporters and went to see them. "It's good to see all of you again."

"It's good to see you too." Orihime said.

"Orihime, I heard how you won Ultimate Talent Star. I take it Swanna's Brave Bird has shined as beautiful as it." Kariya said. Orihime confirmed it has and he was glad to hear that. "I'm also pleased to see you've made it this far, Ichigo. I understand that I'll be your first opponent."

"You are, and you better believe that I'm going to win our battle." Ichigo said.

"It's good that you're confident, but try not to get overconfident." Kariya said. Kariya was glad to see they were doing well, but it quickly turned to annoyance when he saw reporters still trying to get pictures and questions. "Ichigo, how about we go somewhere a little more private to talk."

"Sure." Ichigo said. Kariya showed the way as Ichigo and Absol followed to leave behind all the reporters.

...

The Woods

Kariya took Ichigo out to the woods near the stadium. With all that has happened lately, it was actually nice and tranquil to be in a place like the woods. Ichigo looked around and saw all the pokemon. Kariya held out his hand with a Tailow landing in it and him petting it.

"It's nice to get back to nature, wouldn't you think?" Kariya said.

"Yeah... It is rather nice." Ichigo said.

"While we do progress as humans, it is nice to get back to basics." Kariya said. "With all the work, stress, and daily responsibilities we face; we must be able to return to places where all that seems far away."

"I suppose, but I'm not really stressed or anything." Ichigo said.

"You're not, are you? You're about to face some of the toughest battles you've ever been in." Kariya said. "You're not letting any of it get to you?"

"No. I'll be ready when those battles come." Ichigo said.

"Good, but it is still rather nice to come out here." Kariya said. "It helps quiet the mind and relax." Ichigo thought about what Kariya said. It was hard to think about much of anything in the area. Not a thought went by his head with him out there. He looked down and saw a Caterpie rubbing itself against his leg. He dropped down and petted his head.

"Absol, do you feel it?" Ichigo asked.

"Absol..." Absol was feeling it. A bunch of small pokemon were gathered around him. When they relaxed and not really think about their troubles, the pokemon gathered around them. The pokemon felt like they were kind and gentle and had no reason to be afraid of them.

"While I'm sure we'll have a great battle, I'm sure we'll have an even better one if we go in with a clear mind." Kariya said. "Don't let the fact that I'm one of the best intimidate you. Many have before and they ended up loosing because of it."

"I really do get what you're saying." Ichigo said as he got back up. "I wasn't all that worried, but I am glad you brought me out here. I'm more than ready for that battle now." Kariya was glad to hear that. Especially since Ichigo doesn't appear to have a trace of fear in him. They're battle is sure to be a great one.

...

The Next Day

The time has finally come.

"Welcome, everyone! We are coming to you live at the Champion League!" The place was packed with people for an event like this. Orihime and the others have front row seats for this special show. "To compete in the Champion League, one must be able to win the Pokemon League. By doing so, they have the chance to challenge the best of the best in the region. By defeating all four members of the Elite Four, they could be able to face the champion, Kisuke Urahara, himself."

"This is it." Orihime said.

"No turning back at this point." Rukia said.

"Now, here comes the lucky challenger that has a chance to win it all. He comes all the way from Unova. Here's...Ichigo Kurosaki!" Ichigo and Absol walked out on the field with everyone cheering. It also wasn't just being shown in the stadium. It was being broadcast all around. All of Ichigo's old rivals like Uryu, Renji, Tatsuki, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and others he have faced in the past were watching this. That also meant his family was watching as well. "If Ichigo can defeat all members of the Elite Four, as well as Kisuke himself, he will become the new champion."

"Let's do this, Absol." Ichigo said.

"Absol."

"We are going straight to his first challenge. The first Elite Four member he is battling will be the one who causes the wind to rage. It's Jin Kariya!" Kariya made his way out on the field as well. Everyone was getting excited for this battle.

"The one that causes the wind to rage? I wonder what that means." Rukia said.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Chad said.

"Well, Ichigo. You've done quite well to make it this far, but understand that I don't plan to make this easy for you. You have to truly earn the right to battle our champion." Kariya said.

"I wouldn't want you to go easy on me. I don't need some sort of handicap." Ichigo said.

"Good to hear." Kariya said.

"Matches against the Elite Four will consist of four-on-four battles. Substitution will be allowed."

"Let's get this started. Here is my first pokemon. Ride the win, Honchkrow!" Kariya called.

"Honchkrow!"

"Kariya's first pokemon is Honchkrow! Who will Ichigo choose?"

"Weavile, I choose you!" Ichigo said as he let out his first choice.

"Weavile!"

"Coming at me with an ice-type... That might seem smart, but you'll have to do a lot better than that if you really wish to defeat me." Kariya said.

"Just wait and see what we can do! Weavile, Ice Beam!" Ichigo said. Weavile started the battle by shooting a cold beam at Honchkrow.

"Honchkrow, Double Team!" Kariya said. Honchkrow formed images of itself and was able to avoid the attack. "Now use Aerial Ace!" Honchkrow flew straight at Weavile. All of the copies were attacking.

'Too fast! Can't tell where the real one is!' Ichigo thought as he and Weavile were in real trouble. 'No time to counter!' Some of the images flew past Weavile until was hit by the real one and was knocked down. "Weavile, are you okay?" Weavile was hit pretty hard and tried to stand back up.

"Now, Air Cutter!" Kariya said. Honchkrow unleashed slashes of wind. They all hit Weavile and did some real damage. Weavile looked like it was in real toruble.

"Even though Weavile holds the type advantage, Honchkrow appears to have the upper hand in this battle."

"I think I'm starting to see why Kariya causes the wind to rage." Rukia said. "Those flying-type attacks Honchkrow are using are powerful."

"The Elite Four are much stronger than I thought." Orihime said.

"It's more than that." Chad said, but Orihime didn't really get it.

"I think you're right, Chad." Rukia said. "Honchkrow's ability might be Super Luck. If it is, the attacks are going to be dealing a lot more critical damage. It's only the first battle, it just started, but Ichigo is already in a lot of trouble." They could see now that this could be a bigger challenge than they thought for Ichigo, but it's too late for him to back out of it now.

"Weavile, Ice Shard!" Ichigo said. Weavile formed a shard of ice and threw it at Honchkrow.

"Dodge it!" Kariya said. Honchkrow moved to the side and was able to avoid the attack.

"Weavile is making a good effort, but it can't seem to land an attack."

"Ice Shard again and again! Blast Honchkrow out of the sky!" Ichigo said. Weavile used Ice Shard consecutively. It kept trying to blast Honchkrow, but Honchkrow was able to fly around and avoided each and every attack.

"Honchkrow dodges again and again. Not a single one of Weavile's attacks can hit."

"He's right. We can't get a hit in. Honchkrow is moving around too fast." Ichigo said as he was getting frustrated. There didn't seem to be much that Weavile can do.

"Aerial Ace!" Kariya said. Honchkrow flew around and came right at Weavile. It smashed into Weavile again with Weavile knocked down. "I think the first match is just about finished. Dark Pulse!" Honchkrow unleashed a dark blast. There was nothing Weavile could do about it now. Weavile got blasted by the attack. Even though Weavile was a fellow dark-type, the attack did enough damage to knock Weavile out of the battle.

"Weavile is unable to battle! Honchkrow is the winner!" The referee said.

"The first win goes to Kariya!"

"I can't believe Weavile was defeated by a fellow dark-type like that." Orihime said.

"That's Super Luck for you. Even so, Weavile was taken down rather easily." Rukia said. "None of Weavile's attacks landed."

"He's really going to push Ichigo and his pokemon to their limits." Chad said. "If Ichigo doesn't do something about that attack power and speed, he might not be able to beat Kariya's first pokemon."

"Weavile, return." Ichigo said as he got Weavile back in its pokeball.

"I'm sure you were warned that you were going to need more than type advantage to win this battle." Kariya said. "So, are you still calm and relaxed, or are you already beginning to panic?" Ichigo is in real trouble. He's already failing his greatest challenge.

Ichigo's time in the Champion League might be short if he can't beat Kariya. Having already lost one of his pokemon, is there a way for him to turn this all around? You'll just have to wait and see.

To Be Continued...

Pokemon Question: Here we go, all you future and young trainers. The answer to the last question was...Terrakion. Terrakion can breakdown castle walls with one charge. Here's the next question. Who is the best electric-type when it comes to electrical-energy output?